Reward UNIFIL’s Epic Failure and Corruption in Lebanon by Shutting it Down

JNS.org – The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has one job: to ensure that no armed groups, including Hezbollah terrorists, operate in a restricted area of Southern Lebanon. Not only did UNIFIL fail to do this job—it facilitated Hezbollah’s rearming of the region by ignoring them and failing to raise red flags.

Indeed, when Hezbollah began attacking Israel from this restricted territory in October 2023, UNIFIL did nothing to stop them—nor did its bosses at the United Nations—for 13 long months. This failure is rivaled in dishonor and damage only by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Now, instead of being condemned for its despicable performance, UNIFIL has been assigned an integral role in the new Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. Its “new” job will be to coordinate and monitor Hezbollah’s compliance in vacating Southern Lebanon, plus help dismantle any unauthorized military infrastructure and ensure that only Lebanese security forces operate in designated zones.

Sound familiar? That’s exactly what UNIFIL has proved incapable of doing. Instead of disarming Hezbollah, UNIFIL allowed it to build a massive terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon’s south.

Scandalously, the media seldom report on UNIFIL’s failures, preferring instead to cover Israel’s “attacks” on UNIFIL installations or otherwise threatening or displacing “innocent” Lebanese villagers. As does Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah terrorists quarter their military operations in towns and cities, often in the shadow of UNIFIL bases. This true story, of course, doesn’t match the media’s narrative of Israel being the bad actor.

In fact, when the Israel Defense Forces entered Southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure—intending to ensure the safe return of 70,000 Israeli residents to their homes in Israel’s north—UNIFIL stood in the way, refusing to withdraw, despite pleas from Israeli leaders. Yet the media and U.N. members blamed Israel whenever UNIFIL sites or personnel were struck.

Given UNIFIL’s shameful failure to prevent Hezbollah from arming and occupying Southern Lebanon, plus UNIFIL’s renewed responsibility to rein in Hezbollah, last week’s ceasefire seems bound to collapse.

In short, UNIFIL is simply another multimillion-dollar boondoggle, like UNRWA, that needs dismantling … one more reason for a dramatic cut in U.N. funding by the United States.

Like other U.N. organizations, UNIFIL is well-financed and staffed but ineffective. Initially set up in 1978 to monitor Israel’s withdrawal from Southern Lebanon following an attack by the PLO, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded following the 2006 Second Lebanon War, which Hezbollah began by invading Israel, killing eight soldiers and taking two hostages. Per U.N. Resolution 1701 in 2006, UNIFIL was to ensure that Southern Lebanon would be “an area free of any armed personnel, assets, and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL.”

Today, UNIFIL has 10,000 soldiers and a budget of $550 million, of which the United States pays one-third. Many of its soldiers come from hostile Muslim countries that have no relations with Israel. Others come from China, Ireland and Spain, which practice anti-Israel policies—hardly forces motivated to protect Jews from Muslim terrorists.

UNIFIL allowed Hezbollah to arm itself to the teeth—amassing a huge arsenal of more than 200,000 rockets and missiles. The Iranian-backed terrorist group planned to use Southern Lebanon as a base from which to launch an Oct. 7-style attack on Israel. Hezbollah placed its armed positions within sight of UNIFIL observation posts, yet the U.N. peacekeepers did nothing to stop them. UNIFIL failed to investigate even one of the more than 3,000 Hezbollah arms depots and other military sites targeted by Israel since October 2023.

UNIFIL served at Hezbollah’s pleasure. The terrorist group prohibited UNIFIL from patrolling broad swaths of territory and routinely harassed, assaulted, and even killed the force’s personnel. In an interview with a Danish news site, a former, unnamed U.N. soldier said UNIFIL was “completely at Hezbollah’s mercy” and that their ability to report anything was extremely limited because Hezbollah terrorists would confiscate their devices if they attempted to collect evidence.

But UNIFIL is not only incompetent, it is also corrupt. Captured Hezbollah terrorists recently testified that their group paid UNIFIL operatives for their cooperation, including the use of their outposts and security cameras to observe Israel’s military movements.

Hezbollah uses UNIFIL as human shields. The IDF recounted multiple incidents when Hezbollah’s fire came from areas next to UNIFIL posts, including one that killed two IDF soldiers. Israeli forces also discovered Hezbollah tunnel entrances adjacent to UNIFIL posts.

Mainstream media won’t report these travesties. Indeed, an NPR article titled “What is the U.N. peacekeeping force stationed in Lebanon?” fails to mention Hezbollah’s bribery of UNIFIL or its use of peacekeepers as human shields.

Israel tried to protect UNIFIL, only to be condemned. Israel’s leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, implored UNIFIL to leave their positions for their own safety, but these appeals fell on deaf ears. It was also the IDF’s policy during the war always to warn UNIFIL whenever Israel operated in their vicinity so they had the chance to move out of harm’s way.

Instead of praising Israel, however, for trying to protect UNIFIL, world leaders condemned it. Italy and France, for example, denounced Israel for firing on UNIFIL positions, calling its actions outrageous.

Originally published by Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME).

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